Many vehicles used by military and unconventional forces include armor to protect personnel within the vehicles against ballistic weapons fire. The specific armor on a vehicle is typically designed to protect against ballistic weapons up to a particular caliber. For example, vehicles could include armor designed to withstand multiple 0.50-caliber rounds striking the armor roughly within 120 millimeters of one another.
Ballistic weaponry comes in multiple calibers, and armor used to protect against ballistic weaponry similarly comes in different levels. To defeat armor designed against a certain level of ballistic weaponry, larger or more powerful ballistic weapons can be used. Obviously, this can create a cycle where armor improvements lead to larger-caliber ballistic weapons, requiring additional armor improvements. Another approach to defeating armor involves firing ballistic weapons at a target repeatedly and hoping that a vulnerable location in the armor is struck. Yet another approach to defeating armor involves using a different type of weapon against the armor, such as an energetic weapon. However, it may not be possible or desirable to use larger-caliber ballistic weapons or energetic weapons on some vehicles or in some environments. Also, it may not be possible to fire at a target repeatedly over a long enough period of time to strike a vulnerable location in the armor, assuming there even is a vulnerable location in the armor.